Shocking CCTV footage seen by jury shows Libyan soldiers 'looking around for cameras before they raped man'

Chilling CCTV footage has been released of the moment two Libyan soldiers who were training in Britain allegedly scouring Cambridge city centre for security cameras before raping a man.

Moktar Ali Saad Mahmoud, 33, and Ibrahim Abugtila, 23, left their base at Bassingbourn Barracks in Cambridgeshire to meet their alleged victim, it is claimed.

A court heard the British victim had consumed a 'formidable amount of alcohol' and the pair acted like 'hunting dogs' before taking it in turns to hold down and rape him.

The pair had been undergoing training in Britain as part of an agreement by the UK government to help war-torn Libya after the 2011 collapse of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime.

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The CCTV allegedly shows defendants circled in red (Ibrahim Abugtila) and green (Moktair Mahmoud) first approach members of the public as they ancient city streets


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The footage allegedly showed Abugtila, 23, first approach a woman in the early hours of October 26 - but she pushed him away


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The two defendants (circled) were said to have been searching the Cambridge city for cameras prior to the alleged rape

The court was shown CCTV, released by Cambridgeshire Police, which is in three sections. The defendants are said to be circled in red (Ibrahim Abugtila) and green (Moktair Mahmoud).



In the first scene, the two defendants are allegedly recorded stalking the streets prior to the incident, approaching other members of the public. A woman is shown pushing one of the defendants away from her.

In the second scene, two and a half hours later, the pair are seen striding through the city streets.

In the final footage, the two defendants are shown at a petrol station following the alleged incident. Abugtila, dressed in a bright yellow Cambridge University hoodie and tracksuit bottoms, approaches the counter to phone for a taxi.


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In the second clip shown to the jury, the two defendants were seen walking through the city after the alleged attack - this recording was taken two and half hours later, at 3.45am on October 26



CCTV appears to show Libyan soldiers in Cambridge



Prosecutor John Farmer told Cambridge Crown Court that the footage showed the pair 'circling the area to look for CCTV cameras' before finding a victim.

He said he was a 'complete stranger' and the alleged attack took place in the city centre at 3.26am on October 26.

Mr Farmer previously said: 'He (the victim) was in no fit state one way or another to consent. They behaved like two hunting dogs who had seen a wounded animal.'


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In the final clip, Abugtila, dressed in a bright yellow Cambridge University hoodie, entered a petrol station


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The defendant then approached the counter to order a taxi - this clip was taken at 6.59am


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Dressed in a Cambridge university top and black tracksuit bottoms, Abugtila orders a taxi while his co-defendant waited outside the petrol station

In a recorded interview from October 30 shown to the court yesterday, the victim told officers he could only remember parts of his night out and was 'blind drunk'.

He confessed to consuming Guinness, red wine and Jager bombs and felt about 'seven out of 10' in drunkenness.

A breath test revealed he had 106mgs of alcohol in 100ml of breath - three times over the legal drink drive limit.

The man told officers during interviews the attackers held him down with a force he described as a 'ten' on a scale of 1 to 10.

The man said he was dragged on his side to an area of Christ's Pieces in Cambridge, next to Christ's College.

He said: 'They put their hands over my mouth and got me on the ground. They took my trousers down and tried [to rape me].'

The man also recalled how one of his attackers held him down 'face first to the floor' while the other raped him, and he 'tried to scream' even though a whole hand was over his mouth.


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Moktar Ali Saad Mahmoud, 33, and Ibrahim Abugtila, 23, left their base at Bassingbourn Barracks (pictured) in Cambridgeshire to meet their alleged victim, who had left a wedding very drunk, it is claimed


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The alleged victim had left a wedding party after drinking ‘formidable’ amounts of alcohol and is seen on CCTV footage being led to Christ's Pieces park (above) in Cambridge by the defendants


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The pair had been undergoing training at Bassingbourn Barracks (above) as part of an agreement by the UK government to help war-torn Libya after the 2011 collapse of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime

Mahmoud and Abugtila each deny one count of rape, one count of aiding and abetting rape and a third charge each of attempted rape against the same victim.

Three of their fellow soldiers were also arrested around the same time in connection with unrelated sex offences in Cambridge and are currently awaiting sentencing after admitting their crimes.

This coincided with other concerns over the conduct of Libyan cadets training at the base.

The incidents prompted the Ministry of Defence to send 300 soldiers back to their home country prematurely, ending an agreement to put 2,000 soldiers through basic infantry and junior command training in an attempt to help rebuild the troubled nation.